Simon Cowell is an English reality television judge, entrepreneur, philanthropist, film, record, and television producer. He is most recognized as a judge on the British TV talent competition series Pop Idol, The X Factor, and Britain's Got Talent, and the American TV talent competition shows American Idol, The X Factor, and America's Got Talent. Cowell owns the television production and music publishing house Syco.

As a judge, Cowell often makes blunt and controversial comments, including insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities.

When it came to Leona Lewis, Cowell's insults magically vanished, and his temperment towards her after she would sing was: stunned.

Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and it broke a world record for having 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes.

Lewis's success continued with the release of her debut album, Spirit, in 2007; it went 10x platinum in the United Kingdom, while the lead single, "Bleeding Love", spent seven weeks at number one. She achieved international recognition with the album in 2008, when she became the first British female solo artist to top the US Billboard 200 album chart in more than 20 years.

In 2013, "Christmas, with Love" was released later that year. Its lead single was "One More Sleep".With this chart entry, Lewis became the first British female solo artist to achieve eight top 5 singles, surpassing Olivia Newton-John's record of seven.

Lewis has won one Bambi Award, an MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. She is also a seven-time Brit Award and three-time Grammy Award nominee. In 2014, Lewis made her film debut in the supporting role of Elena in the romantic comedy musical, Walking on Sunshine. Amongst her many awards, in 2015 she also received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations.

Lewis is currently making her Broadway debut as Grizabella in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. Performances began on July 14, and the production is set to officially open on July 31, 2016.